And just when I was having some hope for them:
"Radioactive sulfur reading called safe" August 16, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A spike in radioactive sulfur from the damaged Japanese nuclear plant was detected in California in late March, but researchers say it posed no threat to health.
While the amount was higher than normal background levels, it was still small, said Mark Thiemens of the University of California, San Diego....
Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was damaged in a tsunami on March 11 and extremely low amounts of radioactive iodine later showed up in milk sampled in California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts over the following weeks.
Environmental Protection Agency officials said the levels were so minuscule they were not harmful to public health.
(Blog editor is filled with such dejection and sadness at the s*** that passes for news he can not comment now. As hard as it is to believe, he's speechless).
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Related: FUKUSHIMA
Give that a scroll and decide for yourself whom to believe.
While we are on the subject of radiation:
"Nagasaki remembers A-bomb, US sends representative" August 09, 2011|Yuri Kageyama, Associated Press
The United States sent a representative for the first time Tuesday to the annual memorial service for victims of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, one of two nuclear attacks that led Japan to surrender in World War II.
Did he apologize?
The U.S. bombing of Nagasaki 66 years ago killed some 80,000 people. Three days earlier, the U.S. had dropped another atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing up to 140,000....
The two greatest single acts in human history that are war crimes.
That sticking point on unconditional surrender? We let 'em keep the emperor like they wanted, the one lone condition the Japanese had. Forget all the justifying war propaganda, US leaders dropped those babies against the hated Japanese because they wanted to send a signal to all (most explicitly to Russia) that the US was master of the postwar universe -- and we had the weapon to prove it.
Mayor Tomihisa Taue called on Japan to change its nuclear policy and reject not just atomic weapons but also nuclear power — as decades-old fears of radiation sickness were renewed in March by a nuclear power plant disaster following a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Little late now, 'eh? Why does it always take a disaster for leaders and governments to say they will change?
“Why must this nation that has so long fought for bomb victims once again live in fear of radiation?’’ Taue said. “The time has come to thoroughly talk about what kind of society we want and make a choice.’’
And living with it they are (for now) judging by the hospital reports coming from Japan.
He called for a shift from nuclear reactors — Japan has 54 along its coast — to renewable energy sources....
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And never mind the befouling of the Pacific with radiation.
Related: A war captured on film
War always a hot topic in my paper.
"Japanese leader drops plan to visit US" August 20, 2011|Associated Press
TOKYO - Japan’s prime minister, under pressure to resign within weeks, has declined Washington’s invitation for a visit to hold talks with President Obama next month.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced the decision yesterday, citing Japan’s political situation, suggesting uncertainty over Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s leadership.
Kan has faced a strong challenge from rivals who have demanded his resignation. Kan has said he will step down when a pair of key bills are approved in Parliament, which is likely next week. That would set the stage for a leadership election within Kan’s ruling party, expected by the end of the month.
“It is extremely regrettable that we have to rearrange a visit at the invitation of President Obama,’’ Edano said. “We will reschedule a visit at an appropriate time as we continue our effort to achieve unshakable Japan-US relations.’’
Obama invited Kan to the United States for talks in early September when the two leaders met in France during the Group of Eight summit in May. The March disaster had forced Kan to postpone a US visit earlier this year.
Kan and his Cabinet have faced criticism over their handling of the March 11 disasters as survivors grew frustrated by slow-paced relief and reconstruction efforts.
Relief and reconstruction?
They haven't even cooled the place down yet, and it's actually getting worse!
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Also see:
Drug found to extend lives of obese mice
Research on mice may aid infertile humans
I guess Japan would be the right place for research right now.
